Nudist's 'expression' rights shot down

BRACEBRIDGE, Ontario, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- A Canadian judge has ruled against a man charged with multiple counts of public nudity that his constitutional rights of expression were breached.

In a 37-page ruling Thursday, Judge Jon-Jo Douglas rejected the freedom of expression defense offered by Brian Coldin, charged with five counts of public nudity, the National Post reported.

Coldin faced five charges from 2009, four of which the judge upheld.

The hearing in Bracebridge, a 90-minute drive north of Toronto, heard Coldin was naked when he drove up to two fast-food outlets' drive-through windows. He was also charged with being naked on the side of a highway and in a park.

One of his defense arguments was that he was wearing sandals in the drive-through incidents and therefore not totally nude, which the judge discounted.

Coldin told reporters he is part of the naturist movement and believes he has protection under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The judge disagreed and said the man's actions express "flamboyancy and has little to do with the tenets of naturism."